10 symphony concerts, presented by the Frankfurt Museums-Gesellschaft and Frankfurt Opern- und Museumsorchester, in the main Auditorium at the Alte Oper.

It is a challenge to conduct the Frankfurt Opern- und Museumsorchester when there are sometimes more than a hundred highly motivated musicians, who all love making music and who are equally at home with operatic and symphonic repertoire, sitting in front of me and an audience behind my back steeped in the best Frankfurt traditions: knowledgeable, curious and, above all, very attentive. I feel this every time that I go on stage in the Alte Oper.
But let’s see what you can look Forward to in our concerts this season. 100 years ago in Paris, the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Le Sacre du Printemps nearly caused a riot – we perform this work in our opening programme, which also includes the young ARD prize winner Julian Steckel making his debut with us with Elgar’s cello concerto. Other highlights include Gustav Mahler’s 5th Symphony, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto (with Sabine Meyer) and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no.3 with Radu Lupu. In December we honour the composer (and former leader of our orchestra!) Paul Hindemith, who died 50 years ago, by performing his Mathis der Maler symphony, with its famous Angelic Concert. We continue our Strauss cycle, and perform more Bruckner, his 9th Symphony this time.
Five pairs of concerts are, as is usual, lead by guests: Neeme Järvi, the old master from Estonia, Bertrand de Billy, our new Principal Guest Conductor and, from the younger generation, Constantinos Carydis, Cornelius Meister and Omer Meir Wellber. We can also look forward to wonderful soloists including violinist Daniel Hope who plays a new work by Lebanese Bechara El-Khoury, Arabella Steinbacher, Johannes Brahms’ violin concerto and Lukas Geniusas, who won the German Piano Prize in Frankfurt last year, with Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody. Frankfurt’s choirs are also feature again.
I also recommend that you look at the Museum Gesellschaft’s wonderfully varied chamber music programme, their activities for young people and families.
I look forward to knowing that you are all continuing to sit behind me: knowledgeable, curious and, above all, listening intently.